Just when we thought things couldn’t get any better – they did! But not without a few bumps along the road.
A bit of background. We have been using the community centers in the villages where we have been most active, Mali Beograd and Šangaj. We have always done our best to respect the facilities and the people who work there. But, somehow we upset one of the directors to the point he not only refuses to allow us to use the center, he is even blocking our calls. Continue reading
It was April 2012 when we first visited the city which became our home. The visit included a walk through one of the worst neighbourhoods we have ever seen. Condescendingly called “The Big Pit” by the locals, it was where our hearts were broken to the point of saying…something has to be done! Something was…The Propel Initiative.
Wow! It has been three years since we’ve been able to host a Summer Education Camp in the village of Šangaj. But last week….the kids were back…we were back…and the local community center was more than happy to have us use their facility. Over the course of four days the kids had a blast as they learned some valuable life lessons disguised as characters from… Continue reading
Greetings from Serbia. Happy Spring!!!
What’s been happening?
The early part of the year is usually quiet for us. It is a time of planning and grant writing and preparing for the coming school year. It is also a time of rest and personal rejuvenation…usually. This year took a left turn in January… Continue reading
In 2016 we gave our hearts and lives to help Serbian Roma kids get an education. Not just to learn stuff, but to help them start their own cycles of generational success.
Our hearts are still in this, as too are our lives, but we need some help.
Wow! It was 12 years ago this month we left home for the UK. On 15 July 2009 we stepped off a plane in Birmingham UK to start our 3-year long stint with Next Level International. Little did we know!
We could cover all the ups and downs of the past 12 years, but there is something much more important to celebrate Continue reading
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls of all ages, we proudly announce The H.I.K.E. 2021 is alive and well and on the calendar for September!!!!
Yippppppppppppeeeeeeee!!!!! We’re back!!! And we are ready!!!!
– The team is in training (I hope).
– The route has been mapped out. (The Great Glen Way, Scotland)
– Distance: 120 KM
– Dates:12-17 September 2021 (tentative)
– Loch Ness Monster sightings (possible)
This is the 4th Annual The H.I.K.E. event. Continue reading
Without rehashing a litany of pandemic perils and plaints…this last year was interesting. But, despite lockdowns, curfews, travel restrictions, and limited social interaction, we still see great things happening.
It is like watching one of the nature films showing how life returns to a forest after a devastating fire…little buds of plants and flowers start growing up through the quiet hush beneath the ashes. Life goes on….
Can we share some beautiful success stories with you? Continue reading
What if….oh….what if there were a way to double the number of kids in Propel’s Sponsorship Program?
Wouldn’t that be great?!?! Having every kid who has signed up be fully sponsored and able to be kitted out for school! Wow!!!!
But…how?
How do we find 40+ more amazing people willing to make this dream a reality?
We had a few not-so-good ideas to achieve this goal: Continue reading
It all started as what had become a fairly routine morning in our lives- get up early, hop the train to Manchester Int’l Airport, and board a Lufthansa flight bound for Serbia.
How many times had we done this over the past few years…a dozen times or so? We knew the drill. Manchester to Frankfurt, or Munich, or Vienna, and then on to Belgrade. But this time was very, very different.
Continue reading
